In the printing and advertising business, it is often desired to attach an article, such as a credit card, or identification card or the like onto a printed form or advertising sheet in a predetermined position. Such sheets or forms are often printed consecutively on a continuous web of material, to be separated later at transverse perforations. Hence the articles must be secured at predetermined spaced positions on the continuous sheet.
For greatest speed in accomplishing this assembly, it is desirable that the web of material move continuously through the machine with the articles being fed onto the desired position on the moving sheet.
However, it has been found difficult, for a number of reasons, to provide a feeder that will accurately position the articles onto a moving web of material.
A machine with acceptable versatility, that will be able to process forms of various lengths, means must be provided for changing the distance between the applied articles, to conform to the length of the printed form.
For example, if the machine is set up to operate on forms having a length of 31/2 inches, the feeder will be operated at a rate such that it will feed a card at intervals corresponding to a movement of the continuous sheet of 31/2 inches. The feeder is provided with means for accelerating the card to the speed of the moving sheet.
However, if a form having a length of 4 inches is to be processed by the machine, the speed of the web must be increased so that a card is placed on the moving web every 4 inches. However, this means that the card does not attain the speed of the belt, and therefore arrives at a position on the printed form slightly behind the desired position.
Another problem encountered in the feeding of cards onto the moving printed forms is that often one end side edge of the card will contact the moving web before the other, causing the card to be positioned on the form at a slight angle to the desired orientation. This problem is made worse by the presence of the glue which is applied to the form prior to the positioning of the card therein.